December, 1916 
33 
An early American 
pewter canteen or 
reading lamp with 
hooded reflectors 
The prohibitive 
cost of imported 
candles in the early 
days of America’s 
history soon led to 
their local manu¬ 
facture by the col¬ 
onists. Sheep be¬ 
ing few, and game 
abundant, an econ¬ 
omy was effected 
by mixing mutton 
tallow with a lib¬ 
eral quantity of the 
suet of bear and 
deer meat. Bay- 
berry candles, 
whose making has 
recently been re¬ 
vived with success, 
were a practical 
necessity to the set¬ 
tlers during the pe¬ 
riod when flocks of 
sheep were small, and mutton tallow diffi¬ 
cult to obtain in consequence. In the be¬ 
ginning, all wicking for candles had to be 
imported. When the supply ran short, a 
substitute was found in the pith of rushes; 
but as the pith burned out more rapidly, 
as well as being productive of a dimmer 
light, the spinning of hemp wicking was 
soon successfully undertaken. 
Tallow-Dip Days 
As the Colonial settlements by degrees 
assumed a greater air of permanency, and 
the flocks increased, it became the rule for 
each family to make 
up a year’s supply of 
tallow-dips at the 
time of the annual 
sheep-killing. Only 
a few wicks could be 
dipped at a time and 
the operation had to 
be repeated again and 
again in order to pro¬ 
duce candles of prop¬ 
er thickness. “Can¬ 
dle rods,” to each of 
which were fied sev¬ 
eral wicks, were sup¬ 
ported on a frame, 
or, frequently, two 
chair backs, above a 
container filled with 
melted tallow. I n 
this container each set 
of wicks was plunged 
in turn, and returned 
to the rack while the 
tallow coating hard¬ 
ened. Then the op¬ 
eration was repeated. 
Thus by gradual ac¬ 
cretion the “dips” at¬ 
tained the desired 
proportions of com¬ 
pleted candles. 
Ere long the labori¬ 
ousness of the process 
led to the introduc¬ 
tion of candle molds, 
usually of tin, which 
not only minimized 
labor, but produced 
candles of a mechan¬ 
ical uniformity grati¬ 
fying to the methodi¬ 
cal, uncompromising 
minds of that day and 
The oldest type of candle wall-sconce 
boasted a polished reflector of either tin 
or silvered glass. This also is adaptable 
for electric wiring 
generation, very much as the irregularity 
of the hand-dipped bayberry candles today 
charms the modern art-lover, who has an 
inherent appreciation of the decorativeness 
of form which is thus obtained. 
Many Colonial families purchased molds 
and continued making their own candles, 
but large numbers grew to depend on the 
itinerant candle-makers. These candle- 
makers traveled from place to place dur¬ 
ing the sheep-killing season, carrying a 
stock of molds in which to run the tallow 
An early type of 
hand lamp that lends 
itself to use as a 
doorside light 
In its earlier Colonial form the closed lamp had two short wick tubes on top. Whale oil 
was used with a round wick which later was changed to the ribbon wick with an adjust¬ 
ing attachment that saved labor and made a better light 
supplied by pa¬ 
trons. Their trade 
continued to be 
practiced with good 
profit until well 
along into the first 
quarter of the 
19th Century. 
The use of can¬ 
dles implied, of 
course, that of 
candlesticks 
as well, and as set¬ 
tlers from various 
European lands ar¬ 
rived from year to 
year, bringing with 
them their own na¬ 
tive utensils which, 
in turn, served as 
patterns for the 
manufacture o f 
others, the notable 
diversity in style 
and design of the specimens of candlesticks 
that have been preserved is easily accounted 
for. Tin, iron, pewter, copper and beaten 
brass were the materials commonly used. 
Silver, porcelain and glass came later, but 
these could only be afforded by the more 
affluent. The finest candle holders which 
have been handed down to the present gen¬ 
eration are the mural sconces and the mir¬ 
ror candelabra. Fine specimens of the for¬ 
mer are today worth several hundred dol¬ 
lars each, while candelabra decorated with 
glass prisms have brought as much as $150. 
The introduction 
of lamps was almost 
coincident with that 
of candles, but 
though destined even¬ 
tually to outstrip the 
latter in efficiency, 
the earliest forms 
were inferior, if any¬ 
thing, to the tallow 
dips. First came the 
so-called Betty lamp, 
which was a modifica¬ 
tion of the classic 
Roman lamp, oval in 
form, with a handle 
at one end, but hav¬ 
ing at the other (in 
place of the beak), a 
broad lip like that of 
a gravy boat, on 
which rested one end 
of a wick of twisted 
The two end lamps are pewter double camphene burners, the middle light a hand lamp of 
the same style and those on each side small camphene burners with single wicks. Each 
of these can be modernized by adjusting a new burner or wiring for electricity 
rags. The fuel was 
tallow or soap grease, 
whic h in burning 
emitted a feeble glim¬ 
mer, much smoke and 
an intolerable smell. 
Lamp Development 
The closed lamp 
came next. In its 
primitive form it had 
two short tubes on 
top, through which 
the wicks protruded 
and were pricked up 
with a long pin from 
time to time, as they 
burned down. Whale 
oil was the illuminant 
used at first, and this 
( Cont. on page 58) 
